Thanks all. The job is getting to be bigger than I planned so I may end up
just having a plumber do it. It's in a property that I just bought (it was
a bank-owned foreclosure) and now that I am working on it, I am finding that
a little more of the sewer line is cracked than I originally thought. The
pipe is easily accessible and breaking it away has been easy. But the
leaded part of cast iron fittings aren't coming off too easily, and I am
concerned that I may end up cracking the remaining good sections while
trying to remove them.

Does anyone know if plumbers are able to heat the lead fittings enough with
a torch to melt the lead and take them apart that way? If that's what they
do, I may be better off just having them do that. That would prevent damage
to the rest of the sewer line.

Thanks.

P.S. The stack above is supported very well, so I don't have to worry about
it dropping down. There is a L-turn above the top of the basement
foundation wall, and the L is supported directly on top of the wall. So,
there is no way for it to drop down.



"alta47" wrote in message
. ..
I need to replace a short vertical section of cracked 4" cast iron sewer
line. The section to be replaced is a little less than 4 feet long. The
top of the cast iron above the connection is already supported so it can't
drop down when I take out the bad section.

What I am thinking of doing is breaking out the bad/cracked section of
cast iron, and hopefully ending up with a clean male end of the cast iron
at the top, and a clean female end of the cast iron at the bottom. To
connect the PVC to the cast iron at the top, I plan on using a rubber
connector.

My question is about the bottom part. I would like to insert the PVC into
the female cast iron fitting at the bottom and then seal that connection
with something. I am thinking that since it is a vertical connection,
and it is not under pressure, this should be able to work without the
fitting leaking. Is there some sealant or product that will work for
this?

Is the alternative to look for a rubber fitting for the bottom that is big
enough on one end to go over the extra large cast iron female fitting and
regular 4" size on the other end for the PVC male end?